The Armstrong Clan Society
Dedicated to the Armstrongs, Crosiers, Fairbairns, Grosiers, Nixons and those interested in these surnames
The Armstrong Clan Society offers you One Hundred Thousand Welcomes!
The Armstrong Clan Society has been organized to:
1) Seek friendship and unity among Armstrongs and associated families.
2) Provide for the preservation of Armstrong artifacts unique to the family and to maintain a library.
3) Serve as a genealogical and historical recorder of the membership,
4) Provide quarterly news, Armstrong history and genealogy via The Armstrong Chronicles,
5) Establish geographic membership representation.
Membership
All Armstrongs, Croziers, Fairbairns, Groziers and Nixons, regardless of spelling, and their descendants, are eligible for full membership in The Society. All others interested in furthering the goals of The Society may become associate members. In the United States and Canada, dues are $25 per year, including two adults and all minor children. In all other countries dues are $35 per year, payable in US funds.
click here to download a membership application.
George Armstrong’s
Oregon Gold Mine
Extracted from The Hidden Treasure article by Gertrude O'Rorke in the Blue Mountain Eagle, John Day Oregon, December 17, 1964.
Submitted by Marsha Long with edits by the
Bill Armstrong.
From over the plains came the covered wagon teams to Oregon. Men
and their families, looking
Because it was Indian country, the
settlers congregated in camps for their mutual protection. One such camp, in the canyon along the edges of Elk Creek, they
named Susanville. It did not take long for the settlers to find gold along
Elk Creek, where the soil was fabulously rich in course nuggets.
Before long, word of the find
reached other camps, and more men rushed to Susanville to locate claims
and start digging for gold. The gold rush was on, and soon 500 miners were digging for gold.
One Mr. Haskell, who had already made a lot of money from gold
mining, took out $2,000,000, in his last year working the area. One last
task while working the area, was that he had his men dig a big pit with their hydraulic nozzles.
When it was finished, Mr. Haskell and his foreman, John Pierson, went to the pit to pick up any
gold that was exposed. Just
as Haskell reached the bottom and Pierson was ready to enter the pit, he
looked up the hill and saw a big slide starting. Pierson yelled to Haskell to
jump out and he did. The whole hill was coming down. Haskell scrambled out while down came big trees, rocks and dirt,
eventually filling
and covering the pit. Shortly after this near death experience, Haskell left the area and moved to Baker,
OR and
later on to California.
In a little camp just below Susanville, George Raider, or Rehder, (ed. - probably Ritter, a town so named NW of Susanville - see map below) took out $35,000 (worth of gold- ed) after all expenses were paid. A Mr. Ray, located some ground on the little creek he named "Ray Creek". He hired a crew who took out $10,000 to $l1,000 of gold per year for 10 years.
When Buck Gulch was
located, $14,000 was taken out in one year and $5,000 in each of the next
two years. In 1913, George Armstrong and Dick Stewart were mining
in Buck Gulch. Both were elderly and had chores to do at home, but. they
put in as much time as they could at their mine. The work was discouraging, but they kept
their hope of striking it rich. On the morning of June 19 (1913 assumed)
they decided to wash out a little island in the middle of the creek
running through their claim. After the soil was mostly washed away,
Stewart noticed a rusty looking object shaped like a baby's shoe. His
heart pumped hard when he realized that it was gold. "We've struck it
rich," he shouted to his partner. "'George, I've found a nugget
as big as your fist." Joyously, the two men climbed on their horses
and headed for home.
The next day, armed with
pistol and rifle, they headed for Baker City with their find. In Baker
City the
assayer confirmed their hopes. The nugget was solid gold and weighed 80.4
ounces - worth $l,415 at the going price of $17 per ounce. (Almost $116,600 at recent [1450/oz] gold
prices.-ed) The nugget was never marketed, and since 1964 it is on display
in a Baker City bank where many people still admire it. It is the largest pure gold nugget ever found, although some
larger alloy nuggets, which contain quartz, have been found.
OK - So where in Oregon is Susanville??? Seems to be very remote in a lovely mountainous area.
Rev Jan 17, 2011